Candriam S.C.A. Boosts Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 43.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 916,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 277,916 shares during the period. Waste Management accounts for approximately 1.1% of Candriam S.C.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $184,895,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. CIBC increased their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $230.55 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The firm has a market cap of $92.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $235.81. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $217.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.49.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,547 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total value of $352,886.17. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 44,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,045,280.07. The trade was a 3.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 75,173 shares of company stock worth $17,075,967 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.